AN: Will edit this as soon as I can bc I feel like there are a lot of spelling errors. but for now, please look over my mistakes since ya girl needs to do her homework ;o;

The room was crisp, clean and orderly, not one spec of dust was present, the bedsheet wrinkle-free. White bed, white walls, white furniture, everything was neat and that's how he liked it. Jihoon took a deep breath as he sat on his chair, slowly and carefully pulling out three books under his shirt. He layed them out neatly, his eyes slowly looking at the engraved texts. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Catcher in the Rye and.... Pride and Prejudice." He mumbled to himself, he remembered how Mingyu specifically emphasized that the books he was going to lend him were purely fiction.

"Here." Mingyu took some of the books tucked in his own shelf. Jihoon sat on the bed silently as he reached out his hands for Mingyu to give the literatures.

"I must warn you." Mingyu sighed out, "These books are fiction, meaning they are not real and never happened in real life. If you have questions, I can answer them for you."

Jihoon looked at the books he was holding, he was completely in awe, the covers were interesting unlike the books supplemented by the government. It was his first time to hold something from the outside world, his heart beat quickened and he was excited to open them up for him to read. He looked at the books with great interest, he felt his chest tighten a bit, nervous yet exhilirated. There was a chance he'll get caught, but that didn't faze him.

He looked at his digital clock, it was already 9:30 PM, Jihoon chewed on his bottom lip, reluctantly hovering his hand to pick a book out of the three. He knew he should be asleep, but his curiousity got the better of him. He his desk lamp and started to open one of the books. It was the first time he gave in to his own wants, he felt exhilirated as he read word by word, page through page. Although he had some toruble with a few things, he made sure to take note of each of the things he wasn't able to understand so that he could ask Mingyu in the morning.

But once the thought of the tall man popped into his head, he stopped mid-way of his reading. He was confused, Jihoon was puzzled why the thought of the tall man made him feel something odd inside of him. He felt his stomach churning, he knew it was impossible but he felt it. Jihoon's keen ears started to hear his own heart beat louder and louder and suddenly, his body warmed up. Jihoon could feel his own body tensing up, suddenly he recalled Mingyu's eyes boring into him and he felt his mouth turning dry.

Jihoon stared blankly, why did he felt so mesmerized by the tall man? But he didn't let his thoughts wander for too long, he cleared his throat as he shifted his attention back to the back he was reading. Somehow, he was trying his best to rid of any thoughts that were related to Mingyu.

Meanwhile, in the confines of Mingyu's room, with his blanket over his head and his own heart palpitating and his palms sweating, he couldn't get himself to sleep. It was odd, Mingyu thought. He never had any trouble sleeping before. Mingyu heaved out a heavy sigh as his toes curled and his spine tingled, he was uneasy but at the same time he couldn't erase the thought of Jihoon inside his mind. Although he already came to terms that it was his own fault for staring, thus creating a domino effect where he was forced to reveal his deepest secret to Jihoon, he couldn't help but feel a bit happy.

He was happy and relieved to finally tell someone about it. It felt like a heavy amount of weight was lifted off of his shoulder. He sighed contently, Mingyu was the type that didn't linger far too long on things that could ruin his mood. He knew he wasn't the brightest, as everything he achieved so far in his life were from pure hard work and determination. He removed the cover from his head as his eyes stared at the wall, he wasn't sure what was about to happen in the future. Mingyu was uncertain about the circumstances he placed himself in, but he strangely felt secure knowing that it was Jihoon that he could share his secret with. 

"I felt happy." Mingyu said. He never actually processed what he felt whenever he looked at Jihoon and that time, as the person in front of him asked about his feelings, he understood why he kept on looking at him. He felt delighted to say the least. Mingyu was not sure how someone can make him so happy in a certain way, but he knew something felt right whenever he looks at Jihoon.

Mingyu remembered the moment before, the way Jihoon would look at him, Jihoon's small eyes searching his own to find answers and it made him look more stunning than ever. He couldn't help but soften his heart to him, Mingyu was hoping that maybe this will be the gateway to a friendship with him. Selfish, he knew his reason was selfish, but surrendering to Jihoon was a big sigh of relief for him. He felt guilt-free but also he felt nervous, of course that should be expected, he thought. Even when they were suppressed living inside the city, he knew that no one can absolutely control people. 

He closed his eyes and had a wonderful thought. A thought about how maybe this time living inside the globe was actually 'living' instead of the make-believe of perfection everyone aimed for it to be. At a young age, Mingyu understood how life in the globe worked and through time, he understood that the practice wasn't right. But he couldn't do anything about it, and when he confronted his own father about it, his father's words bore into his mind.

"Some day, you will know the truth and some day, it will make you free."

"Some day, you will know the truth and some day, it will make you free." Mingyu repeated the words his father told him years ago.

Another morning came, the sunlight barely penetrated Jihoon's room as the blinds blocked the rays. He felt his head go dizzy as he looked at his clock that read 7:00 am. Jihoon's heavy lids fought off sleeping, his whole body was stiff as he tried to pull himself together. Dragging his body up as he headed towards the bathroom. His eyebags were apparent and the lack of sleep was already getting into him. Jihoon turned the faucet to splash his face with water, he spent the whole night finishing the book Mingyu lent him and so far, he had a lot of questions in his head.

He felt his head throb as he pushed himself to carry on with the day. Jihoon vaguely remembers the get-together his family will be hosting. As the hot water streamed down his body, he felt a bit of peace but at the same time his mind was chaotic with questions, words and other things that he wanted to know the answer to. Jihoon felt everything was surreal, it was outwordly to even stumble upon an unexpected situation within the globe. He thought that everything was calculated, everything had a place or reason to be there and the government supplying the utterly perfect world they live in with more rules and discipline. Yet, ever since Mingyu came along, everything changed.

Jihoon felt discontented, he felt annoyed and more. Jihoon looked over the sink, where his pills sat on the side. He knew the effectiveness of his pills were dwindling down, he could feel more and more, he wanted to feel more. Jihoon felt oddly electrified by everything. He felt uneasiness when the thought of a good amount of people will be coming into their home. The thought of forcing a smile and  greeting people he doesn't know didn't settle well with him. After so many get-togethers he was present in, it was the first time he could actually feel his own distaste of it. Rather than being anxious of his unchartered situation, he felt reassured. 

As he turned the shower off and grabbed his towel. He took his time drying himself. Looking at the mirror he could see no difference physically but he knew something inside of him was changing. 

Jihoon dressed himself up in a semi formal dress shirt and a simple pair of khaki pants. 

"Just act like you usually do...." Jihoon whispered to himself as he went out of his room to join his parents in welcoming guests.He didn't know how many he had to greet and shake hands but he knew he had to keep it together. Jihoon gave a few nods and smiles, something the son of the Mayor should do. He was about to excuse himself when the next guests came into the door.

"Great." He thought, Jihoon realized it was the first time he expressed such disdain from an act he usually does. But as he looked up to meet the guests with a fake smile, his eyes widened as he was left to act fine. Jihoon made eye contact with the taller man who seemed like he didn't have an ounce of sleep in his eyes. Jihoon could see the small tinge of pink on his cheeks as he shook the man's hand wearily.

"Welcome..." Jihoon trailed off unsure of the situation. He didn't know that the General and Mingyu were invited, he gave a quick glance to his parents who were unfazed. 

"Father." Jihoon looked to his left, "May I show the General's son, my room?" Hoping he could get out of the situation as fast as he can.

"Of course." The Mayor responded, "For a better future, the General and I are elated to see you both forming ties."

With fastened steps, Jihoon lead Mingyu upstairs. Mingyu felt like it was deja vu as he followed Jihoon up. He looked left and right, beautiful paintings and photographs adorned the walls, big glass windows that let sunlight in to illuminate the halls. The house was spacious and neat, Jihoon lead him to the very end of the room as he opened the door for the both of them to enter.

But before Mingyu could even take in his surroundings, he was pulled by Jihoon inside the closet as small rays of light peeked through the dark room. Jihoon never thought he would be alone with the person who persuaded him into not taking his pills.

"I was not informed of your attendance." Jihoon barely caught up with his own breath as he immediately let go of Mingyu.

"My father told me last minute. I'm just as surprised as you are." Mingyu retorted.

The buzzing of stiff laughter and monotonous voices filled the entire first floor of the house. Politicians and important people gathered, the globe was a safe place for everyone to roam around after all. 

"I do believe our sons are getting along well." Mayor Lee pointed out as he and the General talked inside his office.

"Yes." The General replied monotonously, "The future and balance of our community will sure be magnified by their relationship."

"I'm expecting your son to continue to see my boy." Mayor Lee chuckled, "I sure hope that you didn't forget the confidentiality about your son's case." 

"Never, Sir." The General reluctantly replied, "I am well aware of our standing inside the globe." 

"Good." The Mayor gave a chilling smile.

Meanwhile inside the closet, the two continued to hide. 

"I see." Jihoon muttered, he wasn't completely sure where he stands at the idea of his father's ideals but all he could do was go along with it. 

"I guess we'll be seeing each other more often from now on." Mingyu had a silly smile on his face, Jihoon didn't know why but he wanted to look away.

"Like I have a choice." Jihoon snorted. The both of them huddled on to the carpeted floor, with the limited space there's only much he could do as he struggled to cross his arms. "Say.... You didn't get enough sleep... did you?"

"Yeah." Mingyu awkwardly moved as he tried to rest his back on the wall.

"Same." Jihoon sighed relating to Mingyu's situation, "I''ve finished reading Pride and Prejudice this morning."

"Did you like it?" Mingyu asked out of curiosity.

"It was.... entertaining." Jihoon replied nonchalantly.

As their conversation kept on going, Mingyu felt something he had never encountered before. The feeling of talking to a friend, freely conversing without having to be on his toes about showing too much emotion felt weird. He looked at Jihoon who was talking about his views on the book, watching hm contort his face into different expressions he had never seen before made his heart beat like a drum. Mingyu felt a smile crawling up to his cheeks, 

"I think the characters are way too-- ......" Jihoon stopped mid-way of his sentence, "There you go again with your staring." He gave Mingyu an annoyed look as he watched the tall man shift a bit from the small space.

"Why are we here again? Can't we talk in your room?" Mingyu asked, changing the subject.

"Techinically, we're in my room." Jihoon retorted.

"Yes, but why are we h--" Mingyu's voice was muffled completely as Jihoon jolted up  as his ears heard the sound of his bedroom door opening. Jihoon made sure Mingyu kept quiet as he brought his weight over, hovering on top of the tall man as he kept his eyes glued on the closet door.

"Jihoon-ah." A deep voice resonated in the bedroom. "Jihoon-ah?" Jihoon felt anxious, afraid to be found out. He knew that voice, he was well accustomed to that voice. Jihoon and Mingyu were close to each other, Jihoon's breath tickling Mingyu's neck, his free hand balancing himself as he firmly held on to Mingyu's broad shoulder. The silence rang inside his ears, the darkness of the closet pulled the atmosphere into a heavier state as Mingyu struggled under him. 

Mingyu was running out of breath, with Jihoon's hand still muffling him. The weight on his lap made it harder for him to keep himself up as he never experienced that kind of closeness before. He could feel warmth crawling up to his head, his cheeks blazing and his mouth turning into the desert as the situation made him feel embarrassed to say the least,

Jihoon waited and waited as he hears the door closed and foot steps fading away. He heaved a sigh of relief, he swore his heart was about to burst out of his chest. Jihoon felt Mingyu having trouble breathing as he immediately removed his hand from Mingyu's mouth and nose.

"Sorry.." Jihoon mumbled.

"That was... Wonwoo-ssi, am I right?" Mingyu asked as Jihoon nodded in response.

"...Is that why we're hiding?" Mingyu felt a bit hurt of the idea.

"Partially.... " Jihoon bluntly replied, "I don't want to cause any misunderstandings."

"I see." Mingyu drawled out.

The two remained in their comprimising position in silence, Jihoon trying to recollect everything and ease his mind from that nerveracking experience while Mingyu stayed quiet, feeling uneasy from Jihoon's words. 

"Jihoon-ssi." Mingyu said with his head down, avoiding further eye contact. "You can get off of me now..."

Jihoon slowly processed his words before he realized where he was sitting. Jihoon's small eyes expanded as he awkwardly pulled himself away from Mingyu's lap, frantic as he felt the cold wall touch his back and away from Mingyu. The room was limited, he felt his body heat up, he felt his own body sweat profusely, what a tricky place to be, Jihoon thought. 

BANG!

Large hands slammed on the hard wood desk in the office. Mayor Lee's eyes slowly traced those hands as he disgustingly looked at the General.

"What do you mean the pills aren't taking effect anymore?!" General gritted his teeth.

"Careful." The Mayor clicked his tongue, reminding the General to keep his own emotions at bay. "The people are slowly getting immune to the pills. I think it would be safe to send you off outside the globe to get more data and possibly... stronger medication."

AN: And here is Chapter 4! Hope everyone enjoyed reading it and I hope everyone is safe and happy :) Keep warm and keep safe, I wish for everyone to have a wonderful day :D I appreciate the kind things you leave on the comment section! You guys give me so much strength to work harder and write more for you guys <3 

What do you think of the story so far? More will be revealed soon and more will build up for Jihoon and Mingyu! Don't worry :) They're still getting the hang of things especially Jihoon who is new to strong emotions and Mingyu who will finally feel the things he read in those books in the near future :) Please continue to support this story <3